Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular pathogen that is able to survive in a range of hosts due to its repertoire of secreted effector proteins. Utilizing the type I and type II Δku80 strains we engineered a collection of targeted knockout...

This dissertation used two studies to evaluate the appropriateness of a theoretical model exploring the relationships between screening/treatment beliefs and intending to be screened or treated for prostate cancer (P-CA). Study One examined...

A sample of 46 previously unidentified, intermediate- to high-redshift, near-infrared (NIR)-selected galaxy clusters have been discovered in the Andromeda catalog of the Oxford Dartmouth Thirty Degree Survey (ODTS). These clusters vary from low- to...

Quantitative Risk Analysis of Computer Networks (QSRA) addresses the problem of risk opacity of software in networks. It allows risk managers to get a detailed and comprehensive snapshot of the constitutive software on the network, assess its risk...

Research objective . Research suggests that home visiting services can have a significant impact on pregnancy outcomes, child health and development, parenting and maternal life course. The effect of home visiting on utilization of health services...

The great strength of the C-F bond has enabled fluorocarbons to find many industrial and domestic applications, and makes C-F activation a chemical and technical challenge akin to that of C-H bond activation in hydrocarbons. In our mission to...

The far infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, 15-3000 Œºm in wavelength, has a paucity of narrow band laser sources. To address the issue of whether a grating based free electron laser could operate well as such a source, a grating...

Monocytes and macrophages play a key role in a number of immune functions including inflammation, antigen presentation and the clearance of microorganisms and free hemoglobin. Two surface receptors which are important for these functions are CD163...

Previous studies have shown that the mucosal immune system is present in the female reproductive tract and under hormonal control. With the recognition that underlying stromal cells regulate epithelial cell function and hormonal responsiveness,...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recently discovered family of genes with short non-coding RNA transcripts of 18 to 25 nucleotides in length. lin-4 and let-7 , the founding members of the miRNA gene family, control the timing of developmental programs in the...

Experimental and theoretical aspects of macroscopic and mesoscopic elastic instability are investigated in this thesis. For the theoretical investigations we utilize a Lagrangian formulation of nonlinear continuum elasticity theory, the novel...

Sorting very large datasets is a key subroutine in almost any application that is built on top of a large database. Two ways to sort out-of-core data dominate the literature: merging-based algorithms and partitioning-based algorithms. Within these...

Voltage-dependent sodium channels (Na v ) are critical determinants of the ability of a neuron to generate and propagate action potentials. While a large family of Na v isoforms has been identified, the impact of specific isoforms on the electrical...

Naturally occurring macrocyclic tetrapyrroles of the chlorin and bacteriochlorin classes play important roles in essential biological processes, including photosynthesis and nitrogen cycling. The chromophores also show promise in various...

The studies described within the present dissertation build upon and extend the neuroimaging literature in the domains of imagery and semantic retrieval of perceptual memories. These investigations focus on the range of retrieval experiences--from...

Several ""health state classification systems"" are available to estimate health state values (HSV) for economic evaluation. Evidence of variation in estimates from different systems raises concern that system choice may affect study conclusions...

Self-reconfiguring (SR) robots are modular systems that can autonomously change shape, or reconfigure , for increased versatility and adaptability in unknown environments. In this thesis, we investigate planning and control for systems of...

This thesis presents data from ground camera observations of the aurora conducted from Alaska during the winters of 2005 through 2007. In conjunction with these camera observations, conjugate radar observations of the auroral ionosphere were...

We present new forensic tools that are capable of detecting traces of tampering in digital images without the use of watermarks or specialized hardware. These tools operate under the assumption that images contain natural properties from a variety...

The Casimir force arises from an alteration of boundary condition in vacuum and is often regarded as a manifestation of quantum zero point energy. Considerable progress has been made in the last decade with an impressive achievement of experimental...

Objective. We explored preferences and perceptions about treatment decision-making roles among persons with severe mental illness and evaluated two computer-based medication values clarification tools. Methods. In this study we conducted a pilot...

The objective of this thesis was to examine the neural and physiological substrates underlying the processing of aversive information, and how individual differences in anxiety influence these responses. In a series of experiments, we utilized skin...

Snowmelt from seasonal snow covers can be significant in many environments of northern and alpine areas. Water flow and chemical transport resulting from snowmelt have been studied for an understanding of contributions to watersheds or catchments....

The general objective of the current thesis was to investigate the neural substrates underlying the perception of opposite-sex faces. Building on what is already known about the distributed network of brain areas supporting various dimensions of...

Magnetic components for high-frequency power conversion applications can have significant losses that compromise the performance of the converter. In particular, winding losses can be large due to high-frequency effects that are difficult to model...

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders which affect a variety of different animal species including humans. The central pathogenic event underlying prion diseases is the conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrP C )...

I investigate the kinematics and space densities of the local cataclysmic variable (CV) population. CVs are close binary star systems composed of a white dwarf that accretes matter from a less compact companion star in Roche lobe overflow....

A mesh network is a network of wireless routers that employ multi-hop routing and can be used to provide network access for mobile clients. Mobile mesh networks can be deployed rapidly to provide an alternate communication infrastructure for...

APETALA3 ( AP3 ) and PISTILLATA ( PI ) are floral organ identity genes that are necessary and sufficient for petal and stamen development. Surprisingly little is known about molecular mechanisms by which AP3 and PI proteins direct floral organ...

In this thesis we study the properties of time-dependent, nontopological configurations and their effect on the macroscopic properties of a system described by a nonlinear field theory. These structures seem to be ubiquitous in relativistic field...

The present dissertation examined the contributions of vaginal and cervical stimulation to sexual motivation and reward in female rats. New, more complex behavioral methods such as the display of paced mating behavior and the induction of a...

Recent technological advances have fostered the emergence of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), which consist of tiny, wireless, battery-powered nodes that are expected to revolutionize the ways in which we understand and construct complex physical...

In this thesis we develop a theory of Fourier analysis and fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) for finite inverse semigroups. Our results generalize results in the theory of Fourier analysis for finite groups. There is a general method for generating...

Earlier in our laboratory, a facile synthesis of the 2- and 3-nitroindoles was realized. These compounds showed promise as powerful intermediates in the synthesis of novel structures and natural products. The reactivity of 2- and 3-nitroindoles...

Mutations in the Drosophila retinal-specific Phospholipase C (NORPA) cause massive retinal degeneration within five days of constant light exposure. We have previously shown that in norpA mutants persistent complexes between the light receptor...

The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) that manages inter-domain routing on the Internet lacks security. Protective measures using public key cryptography introduce complexities and costs. To support authentication and other security functionality in...